German pretzel rolls (Laugenbrot)

Laugenbrot

Before the fun times that covid brought us, we used to go on family holidays in Germany. We would drive down to Dover, get the ferry over to France, and then drive 4/5 hours through France, Belgium, the Netherlands and finally reach Germany. My main purpose of the trip was to drink and buy as much German beer as possible. My secondary purpose was to eat as many baked goods as I could. German bakeries are packed full of all kinds of types of delicious looking bread and cakes. We would head to the bakery for breakfast and pick up a selection.

Our favourite bread turned out to be Laugenbrot, which means “lye bread”. It’s essentially a roll that is boiled in a lye solution for a minute before baking. It has a beautiful dark exterior but still remains lovely and soft, and when you open it, you get a lovely fluffy interior to the bread, which is perfect with some good quality butter, stuffed with cheese and ham, or just to eat on its own. In my recipe below, I replace the lye with bicarbonate of soda (baking soda in the US).

Prep Time

10 minutes

Cook Time

16 minutes

Serves

8-10 rolls

Ingredients

  • 500 g bread flour flour, plus more for working the dough
  • One (7-g) envelope fast-acting yeast 
  • 2 teaspoons sea salt 
  • 300 ml water, lukewarm (about 110°F or 43°C)
  • 42 g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
  • 1 liter cold water
  • 54 g baking soda
  • Coarse sea salt

Steps

1

In the bowl of your stand mixer fit with the dough hook, combine the flour, yeast, and salt.

2

Add the butter and water to the flour mixture and mix until well combined, about ten minutes. The dough shouldn’t be sticky.

3

Place the dough back in the bowl, cover with a clean kitchen towel, and let rise in a warm place (preferably in a 100°F (35°C) warm oven) until double in size, about 60 minutes.

4

Divide the dough into 10 equal portions of roughly 3 ounces (85 grams) each.

5

Dust your hands with flour, place a portion of dough on the palm of one hand, and with the other hand forming a dome over the dough, roll the dough between your palms until the top is round and firm and you can feel the tension increasing against your hand, about 10 seconds. This creates surface tension and prevents the rolls from deflating and becoming flat. Place the roll on the parchment paper and repeat with the remaining dough.

6

Cover the rolls with a towel and let rise in a warm place until puffy, about 20 minutes.

7

Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

8

In a large pot wide enough to fit 2 rolls at once, bring the 4 1/4 cups cold water and the baking soda to a boil. Carefully watch the heat as the baking soda-water mixture will foam up and you don’t want it to spill over.

9

With a slotted ladle or spoon, gently slip 2 rolls into the boiling water and cook for 30 seconds. Flip them and cook for another 30 seconds, being careful to not let them stick to the bottom of the pot. Transfer the rolls to a wire rack to dry and repeat with the remaining rolls.

10

Use the tip of a sharp knife to score a cross on top of each roll and sprinkle with coarse sea salt. Bake the pretzel rolls, 1 sheet at a time, until golden brown, about 16 minutes.